Three people of Nepali origin died in a shooting in Texas in what police believe was a murder-suicide. The incident took place in Dallas, where three members of the same family were killed.

Dallas police said in a statement that the shooting occurred at 2:10am local time on Saturday in the 1900 block of Dudley Street. According to police, 53-year-old Lalit Pradhan shot and killed his 37-year-old wife, Ranjana Shrestha, and their three-year-old son, Pranish Pradhan.

Police said Pradhan then turned the gun on himself, using the same pistol. Ranjana and Pranish died at the scene, while Pradhan was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

“Authorities said two victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Pradhan was found with an apparent gunshot wound and several lacerations,” cbsnews.com quoted local police as saying. “He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.”

According to police, Pradhan had been on medication for depression for a long time. A day before the incident, he posted on his Facebook wall that he had been under prolonged stress, was unable to attend work, and that he and his family had been unable to access government services, forcing them to work hard to survive.

“My family has not been able to access government services, which has forced us to work hard,” he wrote in his Facebook post.

Bijay Bhusal, general secretary of the Nepalese Society of Texas, said preliminary information indicated Pradhan was a Bhutanese refugee [of Nepali origin] and Shrestha a Nepali national. “We are in regular contact with the police for updates and are coordinating with family members in Nepal,” Bhusal said, adding that the organisation was also trying to help connect relatives institutionally and arrange for the bodies to be sent to Nepal.

Police said preliminary investigation suggested it was a murder-suicide. The organisation said its role was limited to helping coordinate with relatives in Nepal.

Two months earlier, on June 5, four members of another Nepali family were found dead in Manassas, Virginia, also in what police described as a murder-suicide. Manassas police have not yet released conclusive findings about that case. Police said investigations are ongoing and evidence collection is underway.